In previous MEM issues we have been looking at the command of YHVH for us to be holy, in fact if we are redeemed we are called holy

(Isaiah 62:12). Looking at the fourth commandment given from Mt. Sinai by the Eternal One, Creator of Heaven and earth, we now consider keeping the Sabbath holy.

There are those who understand the seventh day of the week is the Sabbath day; that it was created, made holy, by YHVH from the very beginning. However there may be varied understanding on how to keep it holy. Can we better understand by looking at instruction from Scripture and commentary?

- The verb qadash in the Qal connotes the state of that which belongs to the sphere of the sacred. Thus it is distinct from the common or profane.

- A basic element of Israelite religion was the maintenance of an inviolable distinction between the spheres of the sacred and the common or profane. {

#Nu 18:32} That which was inherently holy or designated so by divine decree or cultic rite was not to be treated as common. The sabbathwas holy, and the restrictions connected with that day served to maintain its distinctive nature and to guard against its being treated as common. {#Ex 16:23-26 Isa 58:13,14}

- ... by definition, holiness is separate from all that is sinful and profane. God, therefore, calls man to holiness because he himself is holy (qadôsh) (

#Le 19:2; ef. #1Pe 1:15).

Here we see holy is distinguished from and separate from the profane

(irreverent, secular) and the holy is not to be treated as common (everyday, ordinary, vulgar). Keep this in mind as we consider the Sabbath commandment.

The first seventh day (dedicated, hallowed, sanctified):

Genesis 2:2-3 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Seventh day called a holy Sabbath:

Exodus 16:23 then he said to them, "This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning." (Sabbath literally means to stop; holy means it was sanctified, set apart, and in this case made holy by YHVH.)

The lesson of the manna:

Exodus 16:26-30 "

Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none." It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?" See, the LORD has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." So the people rested on the seventh day.

The children of Israel, just being delivered from Egypt, were given the lesson of the seventh day Sabbath before the command came from YHVH at Mt. Sinai.

YHVH’s Sabbath commandment:

Exodus 20:

8-11 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

(YHVH even gives the reason - He, Creator of the heavens and earth rested on this day and He blessed it and made it holy.)

Moses reviews Sabbath commandment 40 years later:

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 ‘

Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. ‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

(We are told to remember we were brought out of Egypt (sin/slavery) by YHVH; He is our Redeemer - Savior.)

Exodus 23:12 "

Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.
(All are to rest, even your work animals.)

No excuses:

Exodus 34:21 "

You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest.

(Note! The command says to work for six days and there are no excuses or urgency about getting any work done on the Sabbath.)

The Sabbath is a sign (He as Creator set the example):

Exodus 31:17 "It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed."

Holy convocation (formal assembly):

Leviticus 23:2-3 "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations-My appointed times are these: ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.

Everlasting covenant:

Exodus 31:16 ‘So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’

(Ah you say, that was for Israel not me, then you might want to consider Galatians 3:29.)

Reason for keeping Sabbath holy:

Leviticus 16:31 "It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute. (In my opinion this is the very core purpose of YHVH’s plan for all of mankind; it is the reason we include quotes from Andrew Murray on humility. When man lost his dependence on Elohim [humility] the Sabbath is a time we can restore that humility.)

Prohibitions:

Exodus 35:3 "You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day."

Numbers 15:32 Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day.

Isaiah 58:13 "If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day… desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word,

Isaiah 56:6 "Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant; (It is important that we understand what is profane [associated with common, secular or unclean] and what is holy, so we can keep [guard] that which is set apart.)

Man’s nature concerning the Sabbath:

Amos 8:5 saying, "When will the new moon be over, So that we may sell grain, And the sabbath, that we may open the wheat market, To make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger, And to cheat with dishonest scales,

Seriousness of profaning Sabbath:

Jeremiah 17:21-22, 27 ‘Thus says the LORD, "Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. "You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. …But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched."

What we can do on the Sabbath:

Psalm 92:1 A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day. It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

Isaiah 58:13 "… on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it…

Isaiah 66:23 "… And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the LORD.

Blessing for not profaning the Sabbath:

Isaiah 56:2 "How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it; Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil."

Ezekiel 46:1 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, "The gate of the inner court facing east shall be shut the six working days; but it shall be opened on the sabbath day and opened on the day of the new moon. (To me this indicates there is a special opening to the inner court on Sabbath; special access to YHVH’s provision.)

Yeshua and the Sabbath:

Luke 4:16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

Mark 2:27-28 Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Matthew 12:10-12 … So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

Luke 13:15-16 …And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?"

Sabbath has a preparation day:

Mark 15:42 When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

Waited until Sabbath was over to work:

Mark 16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him.

Apostles observe Sabbath:

Ac 13:42-44 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. …The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.

Acts 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.

Council at Jerusalem declares:

Acts 15:21 "For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath."

Paul tells us:

Colossians 2:16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-

The writer of Hebrews:

Heb 4:9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

Example of not profaning the Sabbath:

Nehemiah 10:31 As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day; and we will forego the crops the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.

Nehemiah 13:15-22 In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food. Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem. Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day? Did not your fathers do the same, so that our God brought on us and on this city all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath."

It came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the sabbath day. Once or twice the traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem.

Then I warned them and said to them, "Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will use force against you." From that time on they did not come on the sabbath.

And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the sabbath day. For this also remember me, O my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

Holiness Does matter!

Let us guard against profaning what YHVH has made holy.

Proverbs

Proverbs 7: 1-3 My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

The Holy Spirit speaking through the writer of the Proverbs instructs us to treasure, to keep, YHVH’s commandments; to write them all on our heart. From a loving Creator that gave us His Sabbaths for a special blessing.

Saying (s)

"Ingenuity, plus courage, plus work, equals miracles."

When YHVH says we are created in His image it seems almost certain we would have His creative ability to some limited degree. So stepping out in confidence and working hard things do happen. That is why we need to take time to rest in the Sabbath; to learn of our Creator, not only to be refreshed but to learn to be more like Him, and to be ready to creatively work for six days. Try it; see what happens.

Proverbs 22:29

Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men.

Bible Quiz

Jesus was born in what year?

Which book stresses the thought that faith without deeds is dead?

Where was Paul at the end of Acts?

What was Demetrius’s occupation?

After he had interpreted the chief cupbearer’s and chief baker’s dreams, how long did Joseph stay in prison?

Who was the son that helped his mother deceive his father?

Who said, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"?

Humility

In our pursuit of humility: (Lesson from the lives of the disciples.)

"Third is the revelation that it is only by the indwelling of Christ in His divine humility that we can become truly humble. We have our pride from Adam; we must have our humility from Christ. Pride rules in us with incredible power; it is ourselves, our very nature. Humility must become ours in the same way; it must be our true selves, our very nature. As natural as easy as it has been to be proud, it must become natural for us to be humble. The promise is "Where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly." All Christ’s teachings of His disciples, and all their vain efforts, were the needful preparation for His entering into them in divine power, to give and be in them what He had taught them to desire. " Andrew Murray

Just as the ground surrounding the burning bush before Moses was holy so is anything with the divine presence of YHVH. It is the Holy Spirit indwelling the humble that is making His people holy, replacing the powerful pride of our nature with His holy nature.

Leviticus 19:2

Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

Did you know:

VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING....

THE BUZZARD:
If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and
is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its
ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is
that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a
run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit,
it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner
for life in a small jail with no top.

THE BAT:
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable
nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place.
If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about
helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

THE BUMBLEBEE:
A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there
Until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees
the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

PEOPLE:
In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the
bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing
that all we have to do is look up!

1. My first job was working in an Orange Juice factory, but I got canned. I couldn't concentrate.

2. Then I worked in the woods as a Lumberjack, but I just couldn't hack it, so they gave me the axe.

3. After that, I tried to be a Tailor, but I just wasn't suited for it - mainly because it was a sew-sew job.

4. Next, I tried working in a Muffler Factory, but that was too exhausting.

5. Then, I tried to be a Chef - figured it would add a little spice to my life, but I just didn't have the thyme.

6. I attempted to be a Deli Worker, but any way I sliced it I couldn't cut the mustard.

7. My best job was a Musician, but eventually I found I wasn't noteworthy.

8. I studied a long time to become a Doctor, but I didn't have any patience.

9. Next job was in a Shoe Factory. I tried but I just didn't fit in.

10. I became a Professional Fisherman, but discovered that I couldn't live on my net income.

11. I managed to get a good job working for a Pool Maintenance Company, but the work was just too draining.

12. So then I got a job in a Workout Center, but they said I wasn't fit for the job.

13. After many years of trying to find steady work, I finally got a job as a Historian-until I realized there was no future.

14. My last job was working at a coffee shop, but I had to quit because it was always the same old grind.

15. NEXT I TRIED RETIREMENT AND FOUND THAT I'M PERFECT FOR THE JOB!

Commentary on Life

Our duty is not to see through one another, but to see one another through.

Blessed are those who give without remembering and receive without forgetting.

If you want to leave your footprints in the sands of time, wear work shoes.

The important thing about your lot in life is whether you use it for parking or building.

Good Old Days

THE YEAR 1909

One hundred years ago.

Here are some statistics for the Year 1909.

*****************

The average life expectancy was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles Of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.
The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.
Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard'.

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from Entering into their country for any reason.
Five leading causes of death were:1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!

Crossword puzzles, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, " Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking?)

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.